Sno. Co.: man killed in dispute with deputies

An apparent argument over weed control escalated Friday into a confrontation with Snohomish County sheriff's deputies that left one man fatally shot, a spokesman said.

The trouble began when a Verlot-area man in his 40s grew angry with a Snohomish County road crew that was spraying for noxious weeds near his house along the Mountain Loop Highway, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said. The road crew called deputies.

The same man, armed with a handgun, approached a veteran deputy and a reserve deputy when they arrived at his home, Goetz said.

"There was a confrontation and the male at the residence was killed," Goetz told The Herald of Everett. The deputies were not injured.

Multiple shots were fired in the man's yard. Goetz said it's unclear who fired.

Neither the dead man nor the deputies were immediately identified. Nearby resident Betty Cook, 87, described the man who died as "a really nice neighbor."

Handling the investigation will be the Snohomish County Multi-Agency Response Team or SMART, a special group of homicide detectives trained to investigate deaths involving police.

The deputy has been placed on paid leave; the reserve deputy will be kept off the road while the shooting is reviewed.

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Information from: The Herald, http://www.heraldnet.com